VPN FAQs

Q: What is a VPN?

A: VPN is a Virtual Private Network. Unlike a truly private network where you own the wires all the way from point A to point B and nobody else can use them, in a VPN some part of the path from A to B is a public network such as the Internet or the public telephone system. By using software judiciously, the VPN provider builds a "tunnel" through that public system for your private data traffic.

Q: What benefit does this bring?

A: Virtual Private Networks offer a very cost-effective way for corporations to communicate. Connection is generally based on telephone connections using the Internet as the main communications link.

Q: Are there any drawbacks?

A: With a true private network, a user can expect, and demand, a defined minimum quality of service from the telephone company or provider. However, a Virtual Private Network could depend upon many sections of the Internet that are beyond the control of your ISP (Internet Service Provider).

Q: How secure is a VPN?

A: Understandably, the corporate world has concerns about sending sensitive information over the very public part of a VPN, the Internet. In practical terms, information passing over the VPN will potentially be routed across several networks that are not under the control of the sender. Thus an important part of any VPN is the encryption that will secure the data stream from prying eyes. Hence, the development of IPSec, which provides both these functions and more.

Q: What is IPSec?

A: The ubiquitous Internet Protocol (IP) now underlies virtually every corporate network, office LAN and, of course, all the networks that make up the Internet as a whole. It is highly efficient, very effective and easy to implement and use. However, it was never designed to be secure. Due to its method of routing packets, IP-based networks are vulnerable to spoofing, sniffing, session hijacking, and man-in-the-middle attacks -- threats that were unheard of when IP was first introduced in 1969.

To address the security problems inherent in IP, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has developed IPSec, the IP Security Protocol Suite. The two prime functions of IPSEC are to ensure data security and data integrity. Security is achieved through data encryption techniques, and integrity through a combination of techniques that authenticate the data sender.

Q: What's the difference between IPSec and PPTP?

A: Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) sits above IP in the layered network model and provides a virtual point-to-point connection across an IP network much like an IPSec tunnel does. PPTP is also an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) draft standard, although Microsoft's version of PPTP deviates from the standard by including some software encryption.

The main benefit of PPTP is that it will tunnel protocols other than IP, although it is clearly not as sophisticated or secure as IPSec, and not a scalable solution.

Q: What can NetPilot VPN offer the VPN market?

A: Ustilising the NetPilot VPN secure appliance means that remote offices equipped with the product can safely use the Internet to access a head office equipped with NetPilot VPN or another IPSec device for all kinds of data transfer - all for the price of a local phone call.

Q: What does the term 'road warrior' mean?

A: A registered trademark of AR Industries Inc., 'road warrior' has become an industry term for applications involving mobile professionals who travel with computers and have to be able to connect remotely to an office network via the Internet.

Q: Does NetPilot's IPSec solution provide remote access functionality?

A: Yes. This allows a remote user to access their office LAN from anywhere in the world, provided they are running an IPSec client on their PC, whilst also enabling Internet access.